With the relatively stable environment, Andar began to ruminate on all the events since he took over this body and awakened his Spirit Matrix, he noticed inconsistencies and subterfuge that he may have missed and he shelved those for later.

The driver began to make small conversations to pass the time while he was hunched over the control of his vehicle, Andar listened with a bit of amusement as time passed.

He suddenly had a thought. He missed his Monster Bike.

More quickly than he imagined he arrived at his destination. Paying the Driver from his own personal money, for he had a healthy stash of 400 Origin Chips and again he was surprised that his master had been able to stash it in his Spatial Ring, he thought he had it hidden well, but now knowing the Perception that would be developed as someone got stronger, he knew he had no secrets that his master did not know about.

His only regret was that he had been unable to retrieve Nivi before leaving. She had a very rudimentary Artificial Intelligence but she had a sassy mouth and was incredibly witty. Andar sometimes wondered how he was able to program someone like her with his Rank 0 Script proficiency, most likely his Master had assisted him from the dark.

Andar crossed the multi-lane roads and looked up to behold a massive skyscraping building that was his destination. This was the Central Transportation Bureau or CTB for short. It controlled the entire teleportation Network within the Black Federation and beyond.

It was a gigantic organization with a long reach to the farthest corners of the universe. It was said the only way to reach the ends of the universe was via the CTB.

There was a constant flow of people entering and exiting the edifice and Andar was soon lost in the crowd. This building did not only serve the population of Ikaron V, but it was also a way station for different travelers.

It was possible to see some of the most fantastical sights and people if you spent a few minutes inside the CTB, if you were lucky or unlucky perhaps you might even see a god passing by. However, they would have to clear the entire building and a greater part of the city if that were to happen.

He found his way to the lobby and went to one of the receptionists. There were hundreds of receptionists stationed on each floor of the building whose height was 250 stories tall, for the number of travelers passing through this building every second was thousands.

The receptionist he approached was a lanky man with a colorful glass perched on his long nose, he had braided hair and his white and black uniform was neat and form-fitting. He must have been standing here for hours but he still smiled wide when Andar approached, “Hello my name is Michel. How can I be of service, sir?

Andar simply stretched forth his hand and showed him the tattoo of the Revolving cube.

“Oh, you’re one of the participants for the Trial Ground. Congratulations by the way. Hold on for a moment while I check your transportation arrangements, are you traveling alone? Of course, you are.”

Andar was quiet and watched as the man touched a rotating white orb with his two hands and his eyeball rolled into his head until it was showing only the white of his eyes. He did not answer any questions because he knew the receptionist was on the lookout for rumors and information, it was part of their job.p

This receptionist was a Rank 1 Mage and was a direct subordinate of the CTB. The organization would have groomed them from the Acolyte level all the way to becoming a Mage to work for them, it was one of the ways most organizations brought up their internal members.

There were advantages to joining different factions as an Acolyte, and the CTB presented some of the best benefits and the preferred alternatives for young Acolytes who could not reach the talent requirements for the Black Tower.

Eight seconds later the receptionist retracted his hands from the Orb and smiled at Andar, he asked him for his name and Andar gave it to him, and the receptionist slid a metallic card with Andar’s name and the logo of the Black Tower affixed on it.

“Please proceed to the 107th floor, you will be directed to Portal 1223-AC. The card given is your ticket and it is for a one-way trip to the Trial Ground. Have a safe trip.” He smiled too wide, and Andar nodded at him ignoring that bit of strangeness.

He felt every Mage was slightly mad, something about their techniques and power system always seemed off to him, this was just a feeling however and Andar had no basis for his judgment.

Andar walked across the expansive lobby and took the high-speed elevator to the 107th floor, he was inside with a couple of youths who should be in their twenties, all of them wore outfits of the Black Tower and were all Acolytes, the highest among them being only a Rank 2 Acolyte. There were four men and two women and they peered at him furtively before looking away.

Although he was still a Mortal his physique and his disposition made his presence shine like a bulb, and for those that did not have confidence in their abilities, it would be difficult to even look him in the eye.

Andar stepped out of the elevator to his destination and looked around for a guardian to show him the direction to the Portal of choice, but he soon found that he did not need to.

Attach to large oval doors were descriptions of the Portal Room from 1220-AC, up to 1229-AC, his destination was easy to track and in fifteen seconds he stood before the oval doorway of 1223AC.

The room was empty except for a single wooden door hovering silently in the middle of the room. On the face of the door was a carving of a child. As Andar stepped closer to the door it let out a slight creak and the eyes of the child opened, and inside of it shone with green fire.